Lachlan
“I’m sorry,”she began nervously as I remained mute, simply gaping at her like a horny teenager who’d just seen his first pair of boobs. “I didn’t mean to interrupt or…or chase your friends away,” she rambled, her words coming out quickly. “I saw you sitting here and thought it was a bit of a coincidence to run into you again, especially on an island this size.”
“It’s smaller than it seems,” I stated when she finally took a breath.
She snapped her mouth shut, my response surprising her. Not the substance of it, but the fact I’d actually spoken. She probably expected me to only respond with grunts and nods, as I did this morning, apart from telling her how to take care of her sting.
“Right.” She studied my face for a moment, smile wavering before her expression brightened once more. “Anyway, I thought it would be rude of me to not come over and thank you again for your help this morning. You didn’t have to stop what you were doing and risk getting stung yourself, not to mention tell me what to do to treat the sting. So…thank you.”
I nodded, my eyes darting to her foot. Which happened to be enclosed in a pair of nude, strappy heels. As if that weren’t enough, she wore a blue and white floral sundress that hugged every one of her curves before flowing out from her waist and stopping mid-thigh.
Fuck. Me.
She was gorgeous. Hell, even this morning, her body clad in an oversized sweatshirt and gym shorts, there was something about her button nose, full, pouty lips, and soft, auburn waves with blonde highlights that drew me to her, making it hard to concentrate as I treated her sting.
But right now? Wearing a dress that pushed up her cleavage and clung to those curves I’d fantasized about an unhealthy number of times today? I could barely hang onto my composure.
Lust coursed through me as I returned my eyes to her mouth, watching as it moved. But I didn’t hear a single word she said, too mesmerized by the cherry-red hue. Wondering what it would feel like to have those lips against mine.
Or on other parts of my body.
When they stopped moving, I blinked out of my thoughts, realizing she must have said something that required a response. What that was, I had no idea. But what was I going to say?
“Sorry, but I spent the past few minutes staring at your lips and wondering how they would look wrapped around my cock. At least I wasn’t gawking at your amazing rack, imagining burying my face in it. So could you repeat what you just said?”
I may not have known anything about her, but I doubted that would go over very well.
“Sorry.” I rubbed a hand over my face. “I kind of zoned out. I guess jet lag is catching up to me.”
“Same here. My friend wants to dance the night away like we used to in our twenties, but I’m not sure I could stay up past ten o’clock. Even if my foot weren’t still a little swollen.”
“How does it feel?” I gestured toward it, able to make out the lines where the tentacles had been wrapped around her leg and foot, the red pronounced against her fair skin.
“Good. Well, not good good. I don’t foresee myself lacing up my tennis shoes and running a marathon in the next few days…or really ever, come to think of it. But it definitely feels a lot better than it did this morning, thanks to you.”
“Can I take a look?”
“Oh. I…” She chewed on her lower lip, looking from me to her friend, uncertainty swirling in her eyes.
I could have backed down, told her it looked like it was healing fine. But the thought of feeling her skin under my hands had me standing my ground, my gaze silently pleading with her.
“Thank you.” She smiled a saccharine smile that dripped with Southern charm.
I placed my hand against her elbow, leading her toward one of the barstools and helping her onto it. The second my skin brushed hers, a warmth fluttered low in my belly, tugging at something I didn’t know still existed. Hell, after losing Piper, I didn’t think my body would ever spark to life from the feel of another woman’s flesh against mine.
Once she was situated, she glanced back at her table, giving the brunette there a small smile before returning her attention to me. Sitting on the stool beside her, I arched a single brow, making sure she didn’t mind if I touched her. The seconds that passed before she nodded nearly killed me with anticipation.
I reached for her calf, carefully placing it into my lap. I tried to focus on her pink, blotchy skin, make sure no lingering stingers remained. With every second I sat there, her leg in my lap, eyes focused on me as her chest heaved with increasingly labored breaths, the last thing I cared about was her damn jellyfish sting. My thoughts had veered into dangerous territory.
Much more perverse territory.
Mainly how her heels would feel digging into my back.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, trying to push down my depraved thoughts.
“Great,” she replied in a breathy voice, licking her lips.
I nodded, smoothing my hand over her leg, tracing the reddening lines. “And how do these feel?”